Diary of a food-loving Central New Yorker

gardening

09/30/2014

The last two tours of the season at the Wegmans Organic Farm near Canandaigua will be offered this Thursday (October 2) and next Thursday (October 9) at 2 p.m.

If you're heading to the Finger Lakes, if the weather stays like this -- gorgeous! -- and if you're curious about growing food and what goes into running an organic farm, you'll find the tour of interest and value.

Put on your walking shoes, leave the dog at home and bring a jacket (and an umbrella, in the event of rain). Tickets cost $10 AND MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE at Wegmans stores. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

The farm tour lasts about two hours and covers about two miles, some of it hilly. About 23 people took the tour on the day I visited.

If you've been to the grocery store lately, you know that organics is a huge "growth category." The Wegmans Organic Farm was established in 2007 on a 50-acre property about eight miles from the city of Canandaigua, overlooking Canandaigua Lake. Approximately 10 acres are certified organic.

The purpose of the farm is not to supply all of Wegmans stores -- that would be impractical and impossible. It's to learn what works and what doesn't in the field and to share knowledge and good practices of growing food naturally, without pesticides, with Wegmans' partner growers -- and the public, as well.

Produce grown on the farm stays close to home: It's sold primarily at Wegmans’ Canandaigua and Pittsford stores, and is used at the Next Door Bar & Grill, a popular restaurant next door to the Pittsford Wegmans. Some of the produce makes it to Wegmans stores in the Syracuse area -- ask your store or produce manager what might be available from the Wegmans Organic Farm.

Radishes, Roma tomatoes and hundreds of pounds of salad greens were harvested the day I visited. Also grown this year: cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, beets, micro greens, fingerling potatoes, peppers, kale, pointed cabbage, Swiss chard, spinach, green and yellow squash, to name a few. Dozens of herbs are planted, as well, like basil, borage, chives, dill, chervil and others.

You'll see chickens -- eggs are used by the Wegman family, according to our tour guide. You'll also see rabbits. Their waste is added to the compost pile, which is huge -- good organics begin with good soil, after all. There's also an apiary. Honey from the farm can't be labeled "organic,'' because the bees travel off the farm, to areas that aren't certified organic.

New at the farm are six "high tunnels,'' which extend the growing season for salad greens, herbs and some vegetables. Step inside and see why -- they really retain heat.

06/25/2014

No sooner had the pole beans sprouted and started to take off, something dug them up. Bam! Gone.

Fortunately, the six San Marzano tomato plants in that small plot are untouched and coming along nicely. I see red sauce in our future -- supplemented with tomatoes from one of our local markets. We do not have enough space for a sauce garden.

Two kinds of cherry tomatoes (super-sweet reds and pear-shaped golden tomatoes) are also coming along well in the elevated garden box Robert built last year. The garden box is the perfect height for deer to enjoy a smorgasbord -- but they don't, knock wood. At least not so far, fingers crossed.

We've been enjoying romaine, arugula and leaf lettuce salads from the garden box, too -- to the point where I almost overdosed on salad last week, if that is possible. I love a salad with greens, arugula, local strawberries, toasted walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette and blue cheese this time of year.

The basil in its own planter box is deep green and gorgeous. As always, we'll use it to make pesto. And when local tomatoes are in season, we will feast on Caprese salad. But not before then.

When gardening space is scarce, you need to plant where you can to take best advantage of the sun. These planters hold green bell pepper plants. If everything grew as well as that ground cover, we'd be all set.

As the lettuces fade in the garden box, we might add some more herbs, or some Swiss chard, which will grow well into the fall. Got any suggestions?

How is your garden growing, Central New York? Let us know in the Comments section, below. Happy gardening - and harvesting!

09/23/2013

During winter, a cluster of
trees on a small hill in DeWitt is covered with tarps and burlap. It took us a
while to figure out that the trees beneath the protective wraps are fig trees.

Figs and fig trees are
native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East – and not exactly common
in colder climates like Central New York. But Faraj Aouad, owner of Omar’s
Beauty Salon, on Thompson Road, patiently persists in growing them here.

Faraj, a native of Lebanon,
says he started with three trees (bearing common black and white figs) and now has
15 of them. In early September, when the figs start to ripen, he puts a small,
hand-lettered sign out in front of his salon offering Fresh Organic Figs.

If your only experience with
figs is in Fig Newtons, you haven’t truly experienced figs – and you are in for
a treat. We picked some up from Faraj on Saturday and they were lush and ripe –
plump and swollen, like tender little balloons. They’re purplish-green on the
outside, reddish and seedy on the inside and a little bit squishy.

Last year, we ate them out
of hand and in green salads. On Saturday, I halved them, tossed them lightly
with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a touch of honey and roasted them in the
oven just long enough to render them syrupy but still hold some of their shape.

I used a small amount on
pizza and refrigerated the rest to eat with my morning yogurt. They also are a
delicious partner with blue cheese and make an excellent crostini with goat
cheese or ricotta spread on some toasted bread, then topped with rosted figs.

Figs also pair nicely with
cured meats like prosciutto and salami – the combination of sweet fruit and
salty meat is hard to resist. We put roasted figs, caramelized onion and strips
of salami on top of a “white pizza’’ – olive oil, garlic and several cheeses --
with yummy results.

Faraj treats his fig trees
with nothing but tender loving care. He says the figs “are coming in with a
vengeance this year – large and sweet to eat.’’

Get some while they last and
have fun experimenting with them. And tell your friends about the man who grows
figs in a place where one doesn’t expect them to thrive.

Figs are available at Omar’s Beauty Salon, 5829
Thompson Road, DeWitt, for a limited time. It is best
to call ahead. Call 315-446-0101 or 315-445-1190. If you have a small market
basket or produce container, bring it with you. Figs are fragile and need to be
used quickly. They’re priced at about three for $1.

Pizza with Roasted Figs, Caramelized Onion and Salami

Half of a small red onion, sliced; caramelized

1 package Columbus Bakery pizza dough (or your favorite pizza
dough)

¼ cup olive oil (approximately)

2 plump cloves garlic, minced

About 1.5 cups grated cheese of your choice (I used a
combination of grated Jarlsberg and Parmesan)

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed

Half cup (approximately) roasted figs (see below)

4 ounces (approximately) salami, cut in thin strips

Handful of fresh basil, julienned

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

A couple hours before you're ready
to cook pizza, put pizza dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Punch
the dough down every now and then.

Place pizza dough on greased
pan and stretch/roll it out it to edge of pan to create a thin crust. Combine olive
oil and garlic. Drizzle olive oil on crust and spread it to edges of crust
using a brush or your hands.

Sprinkle on the grated
cheeses, then arrange fresh mozzarella cube on top. Top the pizza with
caramelized onion, roasted figs and salami. Don’t use so many toppings that you
can’t see the cheese; heavy toppings can make for a soggy crust. Garnish with
julienned basil and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake pizza until crust is
golden brown and cheese is bubbling, about 13-15 minutes. Let rest about 3
minutes then transfer to a cutting board and slice. Makes about 8 servings (one
slice).

To roast figs: Rinse and
halve figs. Toss with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey. Line a
rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roast figs at 400 degrees for 15
minutes (approximately). Transfer to a bowl, saving the juices. Cool, then
cover and refrigerate.

But it IS good for our garden in a box – which has started
to resemble a big, leafy, green salad in a box.

So far, knock wood, the neighborhood deer and resident
woodchuck are not snacking on all the green goodness behind our house.

But I enjoyed my first salad from it last night. Besides
tasting incredibly fresh, there is something very satisfying about eating food
you have grown yourself, outside your door. It’s the ultimate in eating
healthful and local.

In addition to Swiss chard, a variety of salad greens,
spearmint and more basil, the garden box contains contains one Super Sweet
cherry tomato plant, which promises to bear clusters of tiny tomatoes until
frost.

Robert, consumed by the gardening bug after building the
box, cleared a small spot on the east side of the house, where he has planted
zucchini, two varieties of tomatoes and eggplant.

This year, if he chooses to make grilled ratatouille and can
it for enjoyment all winter, he won’t have to rely entirely on produce from the
Regional Market.

05/08/2013

There are
advantages to a small house. There are fewer rooms to clean, for one thing, and
less grass to mow.

But less
space outdoors equals less space to garden. And less space to garden equals
little to no opportunity to grow food, with the exception of basil and other
essential herbs.

Until now!

I happened
on this garden box on legs (above) while browsing the Williams-Sonoma website. My first
thought was: How cool is this?! What a great option for space-challenged people
like us, who have no back forty -- just a hill and trees and gravel drive. My
second thought was: Oh, $300 – soil and plants not included.

Fortunately, I live with a very handy man, who makes art and builds things. I asked him
if he could design and build something like the Williams-Sonoma garden box –
compact and on legs -- for us. As you can see, he rose to the challenge.

The result
is an elevated, 30-inch-by-54- inch garden box on a steel frame – quite a bit
bigger than the retail model that inspired it (24 by 36 inches) -- and far less
expensive.

The box is
made of larch, a locally grown hardwood noted for it strength, durability and
ability to resist water. The lumber cost $40. The frame was custom-made and
welded by Robert's cousin, Ben Poormon, of Steelfab in Weedsport. It cost $100.

At the base
of the box are a couple grids of concrete reinforcing mesh. On top of that went
hay and the soil.

All we need
now is plants, sun and rain. Robert picked up three pepper plants at the
Central New York Regional Market last weekend. We're thinking tomatoes, some
lettuces, herbs and – well, we're not sure what else, exactly.

We'll let
you know what we decide to plant -- and how our little vegetable garden-in-a-box
grows this summer.